1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seal for sealing the oesophagus of a slaughtered animal, such as a cow, and the constituent parts of such a seal. The invention also relates to a device and a method for sealing the oesophagus of a slaughtered animal, such as a cow, by arranging such a seal.
2) Discussion of the Prior Art
During the slaughter of an animal for slaughtering, such as a cow, the meat of the animal intended for human consumption can be contaminated by substance present in the digestive tract, such as food or at least partly digested food. The slaughtered animal, such as a cow or a pig, can for instance carry the bacterium ‘Escherichia coli’ or salmonella, which can be transmitted to humans via the meat intended for human consumption. This contamination of meat intended for human consumption is also referred to as fouling. Particularly if a cow is hung head down during slaughtering, the substance can easily leave the digestive tract, for instance through the oesophagus of the animal. Bacteria harmful to humans, such as ‘Escherichia coli’, can also contaminate meat intended for human consumption when a skin incision is made in order to gain access to the oesophagus. The contamination can penetrate relatively deeply into the pores of the meat, whereby cleaning thereof is difficult or even impossible. There is hereby a risk of at least a part of the meat intended for human consumption being rejected. A frequently used method for solving said problem is to seal the oesophagus, whereby the substance remains inside the digestive tract until the digestive tract is removed.
A known seal is disclosed in WO-A-96/35332. This known seal comprises a substantially cylinder jacket-shaped body which can be placed in the oesophagus and is provided with a cylindrical peripheral wall, and is provided on one side with an end wall and a clamping element which can be moved to a clamping position relative to the substantially cylindrical body for the purpose of fixing the seal in the oesophagus, and thereby sealing the oesophagus, by clamping oesophageal tissue between at least a part of the clamping element and the substantially cylindrical body. Oesophageal tissue is here placed round the cylindrical body, after which the clamping element is placed round the cylindrical body and the oesophageal tissue placed round the substantially cylindrical body is clamped between the clamping element and the substantially cylindrical body.
Although the oesophagus can be sealed in simple manner with this known seal, the strength of the closure of the oesophagus obtained with the known seal is limited. As a result of load exerted on the closure during slaughtering of the animal, the obtained closure of the oesophagus can begin to leak or even be broken by the high pressure exerted on the known seal by the substance present in the digestive tract. There is also the risk that as a result of the tensile stresses exerted on the clamped part of the oesophagus during removal of the oesophagus being so high that the obtained closure of the oesophagus may begin to leak or is broken. There is also the risk of the oesophagus not being properly sealed if an object, such as a piece of food or at least partially digested food, is situated between the cylindrical body, oesophageal tissue and the clamping element, whereby the closure may begin to leak. This is undesirable.
There is therefore a need for a seal which better seals an oesophagus of a slaughtered animal. It is an object of the invention to meet said need.